This invention relates to wheel chocking devices or assemblies used to secure automobiles, trucks and other vehicles to the bed or floor of a transportation vehicle such as a railroad car or “railcar”. For example, a commonly used wheel chock or device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,063 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,213 and functions to confine or hold the vehicle being transported in place on the bed or floor to prevent damage to the vehicle and/or an adjacent vehicle and/or the railcar by shifting of the vehicle in response to forces encountered by the railcar or other transportation system. As disclosed in the above patents, the wheel chock attaches to a crossing wire mesh or wire grid which is secured to the floor or bed of the railcar.
One of the problems encountered with the use of wheel chocks as disclosed in the above patents results when the wheel chocks are used with wheels of a large and/or heavy vehicle, and the railcar is subjected to a sudden impact or jolt. If the force of the impact or jolt is sufficiently high, the momentum of the vehicle being transported causes the vehicle wheels to jump over their corresponding wheel chocks and/or break the chocks, sometimes resulting in the vehicle hitting one or more adjacent vehicles and causing substantial damage to the vehicles. To avoid such an accident, a wheel hold down strap system has been used, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,223.